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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. 9/ 11: Family Life Put On HoldPuerto Rican Toll UnknownApril Vieques Exercises SetMore Protests ThreatenedBush OKs Island BenefitsDominican Immigrants DetainedSIP Asked For Vega Alta MayorSupport For Contamination InvestigationNavy Favors Live AmmunitionHomeless Threaten Protests During Miss Universe
9/ 11: Family Life Put On Hold By Doyle McManus March 11th, 2002 Sgt. Carmen Perez misses her children. Perez, 43, loved being a stay-at-home mom in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, to Iris, 17, and Juan, 10. But three days after Sept. 11, her Army Reserve unit, the 311th Mortuary Affairs Company, was airlifted to Virginia to recover bodies from the wreckage of the Pentagon. "I prayed for strength," she said. Six months later, Perez is still in Virginia, sorting the personal effects of the dead. Her husband and children are back home in Puerto Rico. She has been told her deployment may last a full year, which could mean she would miss Iris' high-school graduation. Still, she said she was glad to pitch in -- and touched that victims' families reached out to her unit with cheers and thanks.
Puerto Rican Toll Unknown March 11th, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — Six months after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, the exact number of Puerto Rican fatal victims remains unknown. The issue which initially had caught the attention of the Puerto Rican government, has fallen to a second place and nobody seems to have the final official count on the Puerto Rican victims who perished in the attack. La Fortaleza had validated a preliminary number of approximately 900 Puerto Rican who had been reported missing in New York, according to data of the American Red Cross. However, public officials at La Fortaleza confirmed during the weekend that no follow-up has been given to this information. Five months ago, the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Office in New York had confirmed that a list of 900 disappeared Puerto Rican had gone down to 500 and had pointed out that this number did not represent the number of real fatalities, as officials had only confirmed several dozen deaths. The main complication in calculating the victims seemed to be that due to their U.S. citizenship, the place of origin of Puerto Ricans is not usually identified.
April Vieques Exercises Set March 11th, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) - The U.S. Navy will hold a new round of military exercises in Vieques on April 4 or 5 for 20 to 25 days. Meanwhile, Vieques activists warned that they will respond with more civil disobedience acts. According to published reports, this time it is the U.S.S. George Washington’s turn to use the firing range. This will be the first military maneuvers in a six-month period, although the Navy ordinarily does its training within a three-month period. Meanwhile, Alejandro Torres, spokesman for the ‘Congreso Nacional Hostosiano’ said these exercises could respond to the ones known as Join Task Force Exercise (JTFEX). For their part, the ‘Pro Rescate y Desarrollo deVieques’ (CPRDV) warned in a press release that "they will engage in civil disobedience acts whether with live ammunition is used or not, if the Navy decides to do its exercises, either at the end of March or the beginning of April, as suggested in their military calendar."
More Protests Threatened March 10th, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) - Several groups opposed to U.S. Navy military practices in Vieques warned that they would resume their acts of civil disobedience there if the Navy resumes its maneuvers on that island municipality. The Pro Rescue and Development of Vieques Committee said in a prepared statement that it will engage in civil disobedience regardless of whether the Navy resumes military practices with live or inert ammunition at the end of March or at the beginning of April. For his part, Police Superintendent Miguel Pereira warned that his agency won’t allow anti Navy groups to break the law during their anti military demonstrations. "The police will enforce the Puerto Rico laws in Vieques, and if that means arresting somebody, then that’s what we’ll do," Pereira said. "For me this is very simple. We have the obligation of enforcing the law and if a police officer sees someone trying to jump the Navy fence in Vieques, that someone will be arrested," Pereira added during a radio interview.
Bush OKs Island Benefits March 10th, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) - U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the bill aimed at giving a new boost to the economy and that would also include benefits for Puerto Rico, such as the return of approximately $116 million in federal excise taxes imposed to Puerto Rican rum. The new law also extends the federal benefits to the unemployed for an additional 13 weeks. However, the bill didn’t include the amendment to Section 956 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, of which the local government had been an advocate to grant new tax incentives to foreign companies based on the island, according to published reports.
Dominican Immigrants Detained EFE News Service March 10th, 2002 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Mar 10, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) - Fifty-six illegal Dominican immigrants were detained on Puerto Rico's Mona Island off the U.S. commonwealth's west coast, authorities reported Sunday. The detentions occurred on Saturday and were made by agents of Puerto Rico's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Sgt. Juan Mercado, of the Maritime Unit of the agency in Cabo Rojo, said the 56 detainees were in good health and had been taken on a Coast Guard vessel to the Puerto Rican port of Mayaguez. Once in Mayaguez, the group was transported overland to Aguadilla to facilities of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service's Border Patrol, the agency that will handle the detainees' repatriation.
SIP Asked For Vega Alta Mayor By Proviana Colon Diaz March 9th, 2002 Justice Secretary Anabelle Rodriguez recommended Friday the designation of a Special Independent Prosecutor (SIP) against suspended Vega Alta Mayor Juan "Mane" Cruzado. The request comes after an investigation revealed that the mayor illegally took $5,100 from the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Vega Alta Municipal Committee. $2,100 of those funds was cashed in days after PDP President Gov. Sila Calderon had relieved him of his duties at the party. Cruzado, currently on bail pending trial, was charged in federal court Oct. 24, 2001, with money laundering, fraud, forfeiture, and witness tampering, among other charges. Two days later, Calderon relieved him of his duties, and on Oct. 31, Cruzado asked his executive assistant, Pedro Carrasquillo Maldonado, to made a "cash" check from the municipal committee and to hand him the money. The check was for $2,100. The other $3,000 was also obtained by Cruzado through a "cash" check Oct. 5, 2001, when he asked his secretary, who had custody of the checking account, to write the check and get the signature of Municipal Committee Finance Director Benjamin Declet. "From the evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation, there is enough cause to believe that Cruzado committed the crime of aggravated theft," Rodriguez said. If convicted, Cruzado could face a maximum prison penalty of 12 years. The Justice Department’s investigation came at the request of PDP General Secretary Jorge Colberg, following the accusation in federal court against Cruzado. According to the investigation, in an attempt to justify the checks Nov. 15, 2001, Cruzado issued a letter to the municipal committee interim president, Eliezer Gonzalez, alleging that he had use the funds to pay maintenance fees. "The committee’s expenses were paid on a monthly basis with checks from the committee’s account, and by Oct. 31, the debts were minimal," Rodriguez said. The request for the SIP designation against Cruzado comes one day after his former wife, PDP Sen. Maribel Rodriguez, quit her post during the wake of a possible impeachment process against her on grounds of violations to the Senate Ethics Code. Rodriguez also faces an investigation by the SIP for the possible illegal use of public funds during her New York trip for the Puerto Rican Parade.
Support For Contamination Investigation March 8th, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — A petition filed by Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Rep. Victor Garcia San Inocencio for the House of Representatives to investigate the contamination problem on land used by the U.S. Armed Forces received Friday the support of House Speaker Carlos Vizcarrondo and New Progressive Party (NPP) Minority Leader Anibal Vega Borges, officials informed Friday. The petition, included in Resolution 2974, is based on published reports that 79 locations on the island are identified as being contaminated by live ammunition or toxic waste. The resolution refers the investigation to the Natural Resources and Environmental Quality Committee and should include an evaluation on harmful, radioactive, and explosive substances, as well as ammunition, in former military bases, camps, practice ranges, and all other terrestrial or aquatic zones in Puerto Rico that had been used by the U.S. military forces. Vizcarrondo and Vega Borges described the problem created by the Armed Forces in those sites as "grave," and once those sites are to be transferred to the people of Puerto Rico, they urged the military that "it should be in good condition and without risk of illness or death for the people."
Navy Favors Live Ammunition March 8th, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — Naval Chief Operations Adm. Vernon Clark and U.S. Navy Infantry Cmdr. Gen. James Jones reaffirmed their support for the use of live ammunition in the Vieques range, but Clark warned of other "circumstances" that do not allow that possibility. The two high ranking officials made their statements before the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee. The "circumstances" Clark refers to have been previously described by Navy Secretary Gordon England as the Vieques people’s opposition to the maneuvers, civil disobedience, and the money it will cost the federal government to reestablish a security system in the area, according to published reports. It has been known that the George Washington battle group, which should train in Vieques by the end of April, will not be authorized to use live ammunition. After those maneuvers, the next step will be making public the report the Naval Analysis Center prepares on the alternative to the training site.
Homeless Threaten Protests During Miss Universe March 7th, 2002 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Lawyers, doctors and religious leaders threatened to protest during the Miss Universe 2002 pageant in May if the San Juan mayor approves an order they say is designed to remove homeless people from the capital's streets. The order makes begging, sleeping in the street and digging through garbage a crime with fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. "We are ready to do the exact things the law prohibits to see if they'll arrest us too," Dr. Jose Vargas Vidot, spokesman for the Coalition for the Continued Support of Homeless People, said Thursday. San Juan Mayor Jorge Santini told reporters Thursday he was surprised by the criticism and said he has done more for the homeless than any other mayor in Puerto Rico. San Juan is the only Puerto Rican municipality with government-funded programs for the homeless. Santini also said no one complained about the municipal order during earlier public hearings. An estimated 6,000 homeless people live on San Juan streets. This is the second consecutive year Puerto Rico has hosted the Miss Universe pageant. Puerto Rico has had four Miss Universe winners: Marisol Malaret (1970), Deborah Carthy Deu (1985), Dayanara Torres (1993) and Denise Quinones (2001).
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